Dear Earth Talk:

Which current artists, bands and music festivals are leading lights when it comes to reducing their environmental footprints and spreading awareness about sustainability?

- Jim Greenville, Brewster, NY

The music
industry has indeed come under fire in recent years for the huge amount
of plastic waste it generates at outdoor concerts and festivals each
summer. The 2015 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, for one, generated
some 679 tons of waste over just four days. Aside from their
irresponsible disposal after the fact, these single-use plastics are
also fossil fuel-intensive to produce to begin with. But recent
acknowledgement of this issue by the industry has resulted in actions by
fans, bands and entire festivals.

Musician
Jack Johnson has led the charge on this initiative, championing the
elimination of disposable plastics on his tour, as well as partnering
with several environmental groups to found the Sustainable Concerts
Working Group. This organization created a blueprint for making tours
more sustainable, listing actions to take for both the band and the
fans. Their website has a long list of goals, followed by specific
actions to achieve them - for example, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions by switching to renewable energy sources, more efficient
lighting and biofuel-powered transportation.

Many
other musicians are also working to green up their industry. The Dave
Matthews Band has taken significant steps to neutralize its
environmental impact via its Bama Green Project, which educates fans
around the world about paths toward sustainability. The band travels in a
biodiesel tour bus and eats locally. Pop icon Adele has publicly
championed the charity, Drop4Drop, which provides local, clean water to
impoverished areas of the world. Rock band Phish founded the group
WaterWheel in 1997 to focus on clean water and urban gardening.
Meanwhile, U2 has worked closely with Greenpeace since the 1990s,
helping them with protest campaigns from nuclear reprocessing in England
to the destruction of forests in Russia. And punk rockers Green Day
live up to their name by partnering with the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC) to raise awareness about American dependence on foreign
oil.

While individual
musicians have found success in mitigating environmental impact, some
have also taken larger-scale actions. Dave Matthews, Maroon 5, Willie
Nelson, The Roots, Sheryl Crow and others founded the Green Music Group
(GMG) in 2004 to help change the industry as a whole. The group has four
core principles with which they hope to incur a paradigm shift: create a
community of environmentally conscious musicians and fans; facilitate
“large-scale greening” of the music industry through touring,
development and public service campaigns; give environmental nonprofits a
megaphone for their cause; and position musical leaders as voices for
change. GMG has already made 80 major tours sustainable while reaching
over 10 million fans in just over 10 years.

Music
festivals are also starting to follow suit. Bonnaroo recently partnered
with the Plastic Pollution Coalition to encourage attendees to bring
their own reusable containers, rather than giving out thousands of
plastic cups. The Outside Lands Music Festival only uses biodegradable
containers. Other festivals have completely eliminated the use of
plastics, instead offering discounted products in return for reusable
stainless steel containers. With this trend gaining momentum every year,
music fans around the world can be optimistic that the music industry
will continue on this road to sustainability.